ASH Daily News for 14 May 2009

Scottish smokers are silent victims, claims campaigner

Six times as many Scots die from smoking than from road and other accidents, murder, suicide, falls and poisoning combined, according to anti-smoking campaigners.

People who die from smoking-related diseases are the “silent victims” of a major epidemic, it was claimed, but if someone is killed in a crash or other violent incident it becomes newsworthy.

The claims were made as shopkeepers, often backed by the tobacco industry, and health campaigners square up over proposals to control the sale of tobacco.

The main issue is a proposal to ban tobacco displays beside cash registers which small newsagents and other corner shops claim will hit them in the pocket.

The government is also planning to ban cigarette-vending machines as part of efforts to deter youngsters from becoming smokers.

Figures obtained by the anti-smoking group ASH Scotland show that in the period 2003-04, 13,473 people died from smoking-related illnesses, compared with just 2,082 from traffic accidents, murders, suicides, accidents, falls and poisonings.

There were revealed by ASH Scotland chief executive Sheila Duffy at the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland annual conference in Ayr.

She told delegates: “Figures for Scotland show that smoking-related diseases kill six times as many people as accidents, including traffic accidents, homicide, suicide, falls and poisoning put together.

“If someone is killed in a road accident, murdered, takes their own life or dies as a result of a poisoning, it’s a newsworthy event. People take notice.

“The 13,500 Scots who die from tobacco-related illnesses every year are the silent victims of a major health epidemic. One in four of all Scottish deaths are estimated to be smoking-related. It’s a staggering figure, and a tragic waste of life.”

Ms Duffy warned of a David and Goliath fight against the giant tobacco companies.

She said tobacco companies still manage to advertise their product, the only known substance to kill half its long-term regular users, with marketing and displays in every corner shop, petrol station and supermarket.

She said that the tobacco industry was fighting “tooth and nail” at Holyrood to stop the government’s plans.

Ms Duffy added: “After all, 15,000 Scots take up smoking every year, continuing to replace those who quit or die.”

Source: The Press and Journal, 14 May 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/qckuyn

Older smokers who kick habit still reduce cancer risk

Smokers who quit later in life still have time to reduce their lung cancer risk, a top expert said yesterday.

It is never too late to stop smoking even for those who wait until they are in their 60s to kick the habit, an international cancer conference in Dublin was told.

Professor Tim Eisen, of Cambridge University, is examining if certain smokers' genetic make-up leaves them more susceptible to lung cancer.

He said while the best advice was to avoid cigarettes completely, people who currently smoke should not take the fatalistic attitude that "the damage is already done".

People who stop at 60 years of age reduce the risk of developing lung cancer quickly and quite profoundly, he added.

The benefits to people who quit earlier in life are better again, he told the gathering of experts at the seventh annual international cancer conference in St James's Hospital.

A 30-year-old who stops smoking reduces their risk to the same level as someone who has never smoked.

His message was welcomed by cancer specialist Dr Ken O'Byrne, of St James's Hospital, who treats lung cancer patients, and Dr Connor Keane, a Mater Hospital pathologist, who said too many smokers believed the damage was done and there was little point in quitting.

Dr O'Byrne said: "Even if you stop at 60, you reduce your risk by a third, and if you stop at 50 years you reduce it by a half. At 60, you are also reducing your risk of heart disease. More than 50 percent of people who continue to smoke will die of smoking-related disease."

Prof Eisen also outlined research in trying to identify genes which increase the likelihood of a smoker developing lung cancer. This could ultimately lead to new ways of preventing the disease.

Source: Irish Independent, 14 May 2009  
Link: http://tinyurl.com/pwma8f

Impact of smoking on mortality and cardiovascular disease: 30-year follow-up study

Non-smokers live longer and have less cardiovascular disease than those who smoke, according to a 30-year follow-up study of 54,000 men and women in Norway. Smoking, say the investigators, is "strongly" related to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality from various causes. 

The results, presented in Stockholm at EuroPRevent 2009, reflect what many other studies have indicated, but, says investigator Professor Haakon Meyer from the University of Oslo and Norwegian Institute of Public Health, these results provide a picture of the long-term, absolute "real life" risk.

Behind his conclusions lies a far-reaching follow-up study which began in 1974 with an invitation to every middle aged man and woman (aged 35-49) living in three counties of Norway to take part in a basic cardiovascular screening examination. The invitation had a huge response, with 91% attending for the baseline screen.

Over the next three decades deaths were recorded by linkage to the Norwegian population registry and, between 2006 and 2008, those surviving responded to a follow-up questionnaire. This allowed division of the participants according to their smoking status - never-smokers, ex-smokers, current smokers of 1-9 cigarettes a day, 10-19 cigarettes a day and more than 20 cigarettes a day (the last group referred to as "heavy smokers").

Results showed that, from the original 54,075 participants, 13,103 had died by the time of follow-up. But it was a significant finding that, of these, 45% of the heavy-smoking men had died during the 30 years, compared to just 18% of the never-smokers. Similarly, 33% of the heavy-smoking women had died, but only 13% of the never-smokers.

Professor Meyer said, "These results show what a tremendous impact smoking has on mortality. We are talking about very high numbers of people."

A similar pattern was seen in the cardiovascular incidence rates reported in the follow-up questionnaire. In men the cumulative incidence of myocardial infarction was 10% in never-smokers and 21% in heavy smokers; in women 4% in never-smokers and 11% in heavy smokers. There were also strong associations found between smoking and stroke and diabetes.

"What these results show is the cumulative long-term association between smoking and death and cardiovascular risk," says Professor Meyer. "Around two-thirds of the middle-aged heavy-smoking men and half the heavy-smoking women had died or had a cardiovascular disease within the next 30 years. The incidence was much lower in never-smokers and reflects the tremendously adverse effect of smoking on health and longevity. The difference in outcome between the never-smokers and heavy smokers was substantial.

"This study underlines the public health messages about smoking. We have seen declines in the prevalence of smoking in developed countries, but challenges still remain. Certain population groups - young women, immigrant communities - still have high rates of smoking, and there's more to be done here."

Source: Medical News Today, 09 May 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/owkb54

Canada: Alberta may join billion-dollar tobacco lawsuit

The Alberta government introduced legislation that will allow it to join other provinces in suing tobacco companies to recover billions of dollars in smoking-related health costs and for alleged misrepresentation of their products.

The legislation would let the government retrieve costs resulting from"wrongful acts or omissions" by tobacco manufacturers, and could see the province try to snare some of the roughly $500 million in annual health costs associated with tobacco use.

"Alberta taxpayers should not be responsible for health-care costs resulting from wrongful acts or omissions," Health Minister Ron Liepert told the legislative assembly.

Liepert noted that the government hasn't made a final decision on whether it will proceed with a lawsuit and will review its options in the coming months, including whether to join other provinces in one larger case.

Speaking of the court case he said, "We have not yet made a decision. There's nothing contemplated in the immediate future."

Alberta is now the eighth province to have laid the groundwork for lawsuits against Big Tobacco.

British Columbia and New Brunswick passed legislation and initiated lawsuits to re-cover health-care costs, while Ontario, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba also have introduced or passed health cost recovery legislation.

Imperial Tobacco Canada, one of the industry's largest companies, believes the provincial lawsuits will fail in court.

The company has called on governments to focus their energy and tax dollars on curbing "the out-of-control illegal tobacco industry" rather than costly court cases that could bankrupt the industry and promote bootleg manufacturing.

"It's a lot of taxpayers'money into a process that in the end won't be beneficial to taxpayers," said Eric Gagnon, Imperial's director of external communications. " This legislation has nothing to do with public safety. It's just a cash grab by provincial governments."

Provinces have been willing partners with the tobacco industry for decades, he noted, and have reaped large windfalls from associated taxes.

At least one legal expert said Alberta's bill and similar legislation in several other provinces may be aimed at encouraging tobacco companies to settle the issue outside of court.

Chris Levy, a law professor at the University of Calgary, said a court process would take several years, including appeals, not to mention a substantial legal bill.

A coalition of health organisations, meanwhile, is lauding the new bill, believing tobacco companies must pay for the impact of their products on public health and the provincial treasury.

"This is cause for celebration. It's due time," said Dr. Charl Els, Alberta director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada.

Liberal Leader David Swann, a medical doctor by training, agrees the province should proceed with a lawsuit against tobacco companies that should be in the billions of dollars.

Source: Calgary Herald, 12 May 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/ozfxf8